By Matt Hardy
Rory McIlroy has said that his “dream” would be a golfing world tour as the Northern Irishman responds to the uncertain future of the sport.
A deadline for talks surrounding a potential merger between the PGA and DP World tours and the breakaway Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf tour has been extended having originally been set for the end of 2023.
But with attitudes towards the rebel league, backed by the Public Investment Fund, McIlroy has suggested a world tour would be the ideal scenario.
McIlroy dream
“Going forward, if everything is on the table, venues have to be a big part of the consideration,” he said in the United Arab Emirates before the Dubai Invitational.
“We need to make sure the courses are worthy of the players who are going to be competing.
“My dream scenario is a world tour, with the proviso that corporate America has to remain a big part of it all. Saudi Arabia, too. That’s just basic economics.
“But there is an untapped commercial opportunity out there.
“Investors always want to make a return on their money. Revenues at the PGA Tour right now are about $2.3bn (£1.8bn).
“So how do we get that number up to four or six? To me, it is by looking outward. They need to think internationally and spread their wings a bit. I’ve been banging that drum for a while.”
LIV Golf has seen success in the likes of Mexico and Australia and has recently attracted the services of reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm.
Others on the tour include former Open winner Cameron Smith and big hitting Bryson DeChambeau.
“Whether they are rotated on the new global circuit, or we go with the same ones every year, I’m OK with either,” he said.
“The Australian Open, for example, should almost be the fifth major. The market down there is huge with potential. They love golf, love sport. They have been starved of top-level golf. And the courses are so good.
“The South African Open is another I’d have in the mix. Then you have places like Singapore and Hong Kong and Japan. What a market Japan represents. That would be another opportunity.”
